VB-10,000 (ship)

The VB-10,000 is a heavy-lift twin-gantry catamaran consisting of two truss space frames atop two barges. The design was derived from Versabar's earlier VB-4000 (aka Bottom Feeder),[1][2] which was developed to clear debris from toppled oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of sending divers to section the wreckage into pieces, the heavy-lift capability facilitates salvaging the platform as a single piece.[3] The primary benefit is increasing safety by reducing the number of high-risk diving activities, but substantial cost savings can be realized by reducing the number of lifts and shortening the decommissioning schedule.[4][5][6]

VB-10,000 prepares to place a decommissioned jacket as an artificial reef off the coast of Louisiana
History
US
Name: VB-10,000
Operator: Versabar (Versamarine)
Builder: Gulf Marine Fabricators
Yard number: 139
Completed: 2010
In service: 2010–present
Homeport: New Orleans
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Floating barge crane
Tonnage: 10116
Length: 277.4 feet (85 m)
Beam: 314 feet (96 m)
Draught: 20 feet (6 m)
Propulsion: (8) 1,000 HP azimuthing thrusters (4/barge)

VB-10,000 is the largest lift vessel ever built in the United States.[7] The color and shape of the trusses on VB-10,000 have prompted comparisons to the famed McDonald's signature Golden Arches.[8]

Design capabilities

Each truss is nearly 240 feet (73 m) at its highest point,[9] with a hook height of 178 feet (54 m).[7] The truss sections are decoupled from the motion of the barges by using specially-designed hinges.[10] Each truss has a "wide" side and a "narrow" side, denoting the relative footprint of the truss-to-barge connection.[11] The "wide" side is essentially pinned to the barge with a single degree of freedom (rotational). The "narrow" side has the specially-designed double joint allowing two rotational degrees of freedom. Each barge has one narrow and one wide interface.[1] The hinges use Trelleborg AB Orkot bearings, a composite material which provide a longer life and lowered maintenance compared to the lubricated bronze bearings used in Bottom Feeder.[10][12]

Once the wreck has been lifted clear of the water, there is 160 feet (49 m) of clearance between the two barge hulls for a separate cargo barge to enter. The load may be placed onto the separate barge for transportation.[13] VB-10,000 is capable of lifting 7,500 short tons (6,800 t) in a single lift, nearly doubling the 4,000-short-ton (3,600 t) capacity of its predecessor.[14]

Each barge is approximately 300 feet (91 m) long by 72 feet (22 m) in beam, and each barge carries four 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) dynamic positioning thrusters for station keeping without anchors and mooring lines. The dynamic positioning system is rated to class 3 standards (ABS Class DPS-3).[7][15]

Claw and VB-10,000 near homeport of Port Arthur, Texas

Versabar developed "The Claw" at Chevron's request. "The Claw" is a gantry-suspended submersible grappling device designed to retrieve sunken debris without sending divers to attach rigging. Each gantry on VB-10,000 can support a single Claw, and each Claw is capable of lifting 2,000 short tons (1,800 t) from locations as deep as 350 feet (110 m) underwater. The total lifting capacity of a single Claw is 3,000 short tons (2,700 t), but the claw itself weighs 1,000 short tons (910 t).[16] Initial sketches for the Claw were developed in December 2010,[17] and the Claw was first deployed in August 2011.[18]

History

Construction

Bottom Feeder lifted more than 60,000 short tons (54,000 t) during more than 100 subsea lift operations in its first four seasons of operation. Upon reviewing the operating experience and refit plans, Versabar realized that modifications to increase hook height and lifting capacity of Bottom Feeder would be better accomplished with a completely new build. However, the larger trusses planned for VB-10,000 each weighed 3,400 short tons (3,100 t), meaning that each truss would have to be built in two separate sections and then mated together, as none of the cranes at the yard were capable of lifting a completed truss.[11] Falsework was used to support one section while the two sections were welded together, and self-propelled modular transporters moved the trusses onto one barge. Once the trusses were secured to one barge, the transporters were moved to the other half of the trusses to move them onto the second barge. After construction was complete, each gantry was proof tested with a 2,740-short-ton (2,490 t) load. VB-10,000 was towed from the yard on 7 October 2010.[11]

Versabar announced that preliminary design work on a larger successor for operations outside the Gulf of Mexico was under way in April 2015.[19]

Operations

VB-10,000 performed its first lift on 9 October 2010, a 1,530-short-ton (1,390 t) topside and jacket which had toppled during a storm at Vermilion 285. Approximately a week later, VB-10,000 retrieved a 2,500-short-ton (2,300 t) topside which had been damaged by fire.[11]

The Claw was used in 20 lift projects during its first year of deployment.[20]

On October 27, 2020, VB-10,000 arrived in Glynn County, Georgia, for the purpose of removing the MV Golden Ray from the St. Simons Sound, where it has been turned on its side for more than a year.[21] The crane had been stationed in Fernandina Beach, Florida, since July, due to salvage operations being put on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,[22] as well as the ongoing 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.[23]

References
  1. US granted 7527006, Khachaturian, Jon, "Marine lifting apparatus", published 5 May 2009, issued 5 May 2009, assigned to Khachaturian, Jon
  2. US granted 8960114, Khachaturian, Jon, "Marine lifting apparatus", issued 31 May 2012, assigned to Khachaturian, Jon
  3. Paganie, David (August 2007). "Versabar invention lifts submerged topsides in one piece". Offshore. 67 (8). Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. Tresaugue, Matthew (7 May 2014). "Safety, cost driving new technology for removing rigs". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  5. Buchanan, Susan (21 August 2012). "Push Is On To Declutter Gulf of Idle Iron". Maritime Reporter. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. Dennis, Lew (2012). "Risk Reduction in Offshore Decommissioning: Chevron's Success in the Gulf of Mexico" (PDF). cablejoints.co.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  7. "VB 10,000". Versabar. 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  8. "Golden arches causing a stir in the Gulf". The Lafourche Gazette. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  9. "The Versabar VB 10,000 (blog)". International Marine Consultancy. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  10. "The Articulating Joint". Versabuoy. 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  11. "New heavy lift vessel deploys in Gulf". Offshore. 71 (1). January 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  12. Trelleborg, AB (3 January 2013). "Versabar's Claw Gets a Grip on Marine Salvage". Product Design and Development. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  13. Devine, Peter (5 July 2011). "The Removal of Green Canyon 6A By Versabar's VB-10000" (PDF). rickblog.biz. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  14. "Coastal Lift Specialist Doubles Size of Its Marine Workhorse". Engineering News-Record. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2016.(subscription required)
  15. "Portable dynamic positioning system" (PDF). Thrustmaster of Texas. 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  16. Rutledge, Tanya (2 May 2012). "The Claw Is A Grabber Of A Product (blog)". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  17. Schott, Cassie (March 2012). "The Claw: Innovation In Offshore Salvage Operations". Ocean News & Technology. 18 (2): 30–32. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  18. McCulley, Russell (1 January 2012). "Jaws of steel". Offshore Engineer. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  19. "US' Versabar develops larger lifting unit for global market". Decomworld. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  20. Tresauge, Matthew; Pickrell, Emily (3 May 2012). "New market for dismantling old rigs results in 'The Claw' (blog)". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  21. https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/10/25/heavy-lifting-crane-that-will-remove-golden-ray-set-to-arrive-in-st-simons-sound/
  22. https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/us/golden-ray-capsize-st-simons-sound-hearing/index.html
  23. https://www.wtoc.com/2020/10/08/removal-golden-ray-delayed-again-over-anchor-issue/
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